Necklace makeover--tutorial

Have you ever had one of those pieces of jewelry that used to be fun, but.....well, just aren't your style anymore? My sister sometimes passes on to me pieces of jewelry she doesn't want anymore.

I have to be honest, I'm not sure I ever wore this one below. I think it probably didn't match anything I wore and I was not fashion-forward enough to mix it with other colors yet. But....as you can see, I had a project in mind......I decided to use a fabric to cover the beads on the necklace.

I picked up a fabric quarter at the fabric store--which are really meant for quilting, but I like buying just a small bit of fabric for projects like this. It's best to choose a small-scale print. Keep in mind if you choose a large-scale print, you won't really see the print, if you know what I mean, since the beads aren't big enough to show all of the parts of the bigger print.


I laid out the necklace over the fabric and pinned down to make a tube of fabric. Remember, if your're newer to sewing like me, to lay the necklace on the right side of the fabric (because we're going to turn it inside out).

Once I had pinned, I cut off my tube and sewed from each end towards the middle. I got stuck here a bit. Since the beads are graduated in size, I had to leave an opening in the middle. Otherwise, I would never have gotten the largest bead through the tube.


Here is my tube with the opening, wrong side out. 

I then turned it right side out and threaded the ends of the necklace through to the ends of the tube. Here you can see the largest bead in the opening.

I then hand-stitched it closed, using a slip stitch-like stitch. It doesn't have to be perfect....the print will hide mistakes and also no one will notice it once we're all done. (They'll just be admiring your fab new necklace)

Once the opening is sewed shut, you are ready to tie in between the beads. Using a matching or coordinating thread, start with the largest bead and tie thread tightly between the beads. I went around once, knotted, then went around again and knotted again......just to make sure I don't have to repair it.

Continue doing so down the necklace, until you reach the chain. Then do the other side, starting at the largest. If you start at the end, you'll end up with extra fabric when you get to the middle. 

Here it is, all tied up, but still needing to be finished.

To finish, trim the end of the fabric where you have tied the last bead. It won't matter that it doesn't have a seam. I also covered the little bead at the end of the chain, but don't have that pictured.

And here it is, on me....

Depending on the fabric, the possibilities are endless!

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